Ivory ducked into an alley, hoping the guards hadn’t seen him. Heart beating wildly, he sank down behind one of the ubiquitous piles of broken, dusty bricks, his soft black hair falling into his eyes. He pushed his glasses up; they’d almost fallen off while he was running.

The Queenguard had no reason to want him; with his black hoodie, dark blue jeans and scuffed green converse he was unremarkable, and certainly not worth chasing. His fingers brushed the scar.

The scar. Of course. They must have sent his description out after finding him in the guardroom with one unconscious guard at his feet. He’d almost succeeded in breaking into the mainframe; if they’d come five minutes later he’d have had the time to make sure the email had been sent to every server in Tahakum, that by morning everyone in Tahakum would have read it. But the Chief had found him, and, recognising him, had tried to arrest him. It was obviously not Ivory’s fault that at that moment a short, fierce 13-year-old with waist-length straight, inky black hair shot through with veins of turquoise had appeared in the doorway, knocking out the Chief of the Queenguards in one smooth motion. It was obviously not Ivory’s fault that Wei chose that moment to come to his rescue.

Speaking of Wei – if they were after him, wouldn’t they be after her as well? He jumped up and swung himself onto the roof of one of the bungalows. No one watched the skies, he would be able to get to HQ without being spotted. Hopefully.

Having reached the manor, he let himself in through the servants’ entrance, then raced to the meeting room. Everyone else was there. Everyone apart from Wei.

“Finally got here?” Gael was in a mood, and everyone knew it.

Ivory slouched over. His lack of proper posture always irritated Gael, and he could see the older boy’s fingers twitching, like he was going to make him stand straight.

Sorry @Autumn_Leaves! Here is my story! I just finished it. So sorry I missed the deadline.
Also, sorry my pirate speak is so bad!
Pirate Wisher

Madisyn Blackbeard was different. She was different in obvious ways, like the scar above her left eye, her unusual black hair, her glasses, and her bad posture. She was also different in other, less obvious ways. For one thing, her father was a pirate. He had deserted her and left her an orphan. For another, while the whole village hated pirates and feared the day when some would come and loot them, she wanted to be one so she could leave the miserable orphanage were she lived. She was 18, so no one was going to adopt her. Currently in that filthy little place, she was stealing some food from the overweight cooks who ate half the food they cooked. She snuck down to the kitchens, quiet as a mouse. The kitchens were located in a dingy little cellar in the basement. It was grimy and smelly, just like the food that was served. However, she happened to know that the head cook, Fae (everyone called her Fat Fae) had just gotten an order of pumpkin pies that she had stored in one of the storage barrels. Madisyn got to the bottom of the stairs, pinching her nose. It was a large room, with the barrels lined up at the opposite walls. The cooks were on the side of the room, busy stuffing their mouths. Madisyn walked lightly, but fast, towards the barrels. All of a sudden, her messenger bag, that she was planning to put the pies in, caught on a pan. The pot crashed to the floor, banging loudly. All the cooks turned around. Madisyn raced to the closest cover, a humongous stew pot. She crawled under it and curled into a ball, hoping the cooks thought it was just a cat who knocked over the pan. It was pitch black under the pots. Madisyn heard footsteps pattering against the floor, then the soft murmuring of voices. Then Fat Fae said, “Darn cat!” She said loudly. “Well, it’s time to make dinner for those greedy little orphans anyway” Madisyn heard footsteps, getting louder every step. “Let’s make stew! Don’t forget to spit in it, everyone!” Madisyn started shaking. If she was caught, she would be kicked out of the orphanage. Even though the food and shelter was terrible, she had friends here, Ella and Leena. Plus, it was free! Madisyn desperately tried to hold the pot down put it was too slick. Fat Fae pulled up the pot slowly, because it was heavy. Even though she looked muscled, it was all fat. Suddenly a loud alarm sound rang through the kitchen. Fae dropped the stew pot with a loud clanging sound. “Pirates!” yelled the cooks. They all ran screaming out of the kitchen. Well that’s one way to get rid of people. Thought Madisyn. Thanks for the assist, Ella and Leena. She climbed out from the pot and quickly searched for the pies. She found them quickly and ran out of the basement. She raced through town to her meeting spot. She went so fast she didn’t even realize that the whole village was empty, and a large pirate ship was looming on the horizon. She got to an old broken down shop in record time. She stepped through the doorway, and raced down to the cellar. Waiting for her were Ella and Leena. Ella had bright red hair and a pretty freckled face. Leena had wavy brown hair and beautiful green eyes. However, neither of them were looking happy. “Umm… WHAT!?!” screamed Leena. “The pirate alarm went off, and you didn’t even bother to come to us until now?!? Instead you went after your precious pumpkin pies! Now we’re all probably going to die, because the pirates are coming and the whole village is hiding, and for some reason, you decided to take your sweet time! I mean, come on!” Leena turned around, walked a few steps and plopped down on a crumbly piece of stone. “Jeez, Leena!” Madisyn said. “I got those pies for us! And I thought that you had set of the alarm to distract the cooks! Maybe you could’ve thought that I had an explanation? I mean, come on!” She said, imitating Leena’s voice. “Fine.” said Leena. “I forgive you.” The Ella interrupted. “Maybe this isn’t the best time to apologize.
“Look!” She pointed out the cracked window. Down the street, pirates were storming into houses and coming out with families bound and gagged. They were all led led to the largest house and then locked inside. Then the pirates started looking around for any treasures. They barbed into houses and came out with valuables. They put these in a large treasure chests, stacked in a wagon. They were steadily making their way towards Madisyn’s hideout. “What are we going to do?!?” said Ella. “We’re going to join them!” Said Madisyn. “Come on!” She suddenly went over to a dark corner and pulled open a hidden trapdoor. She tossed Ella and Leena each a thin sword, then walked towards the door. “What are you waiting for?” She said to them. “Umm, well, you don’t exactly just walk up to pirates and join them.” Said Ella. “You do now!” Madisyn replied. They walked out of the broken down house and strode confidently towards the pirates. “Hey boys!” She called to them “I request a duel with your captain.” She pulled out her sword, spun it, and pointed it at them. “If I win, I’m your new captain. If you win, you pick one of us as your bride.” Ella and Leena stared at Madisyn in shock. Madisyn whispered to them out of the corner of her mouth. “Trust me, I know what I’m doing.” And she did. From what she had heard, pirates were real ladies men. They would take women from villages just to try and woo them. And it did work. A dirty, yellow teethed pirate stepped from the crowd. He drew a thick broadsword and said “I’ll go easy on you, little girl. But I want her for my wife.” He pointed his hook at Leena. Two men came up to Leena, held her arms behind her back, took away her sword, and started dragging her towards the rest of the pirates. “Just taking precautions. If you win she gets to go, and you get me crew. If I win, I take all of you as brides for me mates.” He grinned a yellow-toothed smile. “Deal.” Said Madisyn. “Go! She leapt forward, sword in hand. The captain held up his sword with surprising speed and blocked it. Then they fought. Madisyn had no idea how long it lasted. She just knew that she had to win. Then she had an idea. The next time the captain charged at her, she put up her sword in a poor attempt to block him. He drove her to the ground, and then knelt above her. “I believe me won. My bride awaits.” He started to get up, but Madisyn kneed him in an uncomfortable place, and he fell to the ground. She stood over him, sword pointing at his neck. “Not so. My crew awaits!” He put his hands up. “Okay, okay!” He ordered his crew to release the villagers. As they worked, a little boy ran up to Madisyn, Leena, and Ella. “I overheard the captain! He’s planning to get you on the ship and have you walk the plank!” Madisyn nodded. “Thanks. Okay, Leena, please go get all the girls willing to join us, and Ella, go with him to distract the pirates. Then meet me at the ship.” Ella, Leena, and the little boy al, nodded. “Aye, aye! Captain!” (That’s for you @hyperactive_fox!) They all shouted. Then they ran off. Madisyn ran to the ship. She looked at the food supply. None. The weapon supply. None. The space. Lots! She ran to the broken down house and gathered some more weapons they had stored there, including swords, rifles, and daggers. She stored those in the hull, then ran down to the orphanage kitchen. She rolled three barrels out, one filled with containers of flour, and other cooking staples, one with the oven, and one filled with the seeds of various fruit plants. She rolled these out to the ship. Leena was back with a whole bunch of girls, and they all helped load the food supplies onto the ship. Madisyn told them to go get a bag of necessities and two food items. They all ran back to their homes. While they were gone, a loud explosion sounded at the largest house in town. All the pirates in the area ran towards it. When the girls got back, Madisyn had them pick a place on the ship to live. The she handed out all the weapons. As soon as Ella and the little boy got back, they set sail. However, while they were leaving, the captain had snuck onto the boat. He came out to attack, his sword drawn. Apparently he thought girls couldn’t fight. Well boy, was he wrong! Everyone on the ship came out and attacked him. He was off the plank and into the water in no time. After this drama, Madisyn turned to the horizon raised her arms. Feared pirates, here we come!

The Mad Pirate had just looted another village. She and her crew were the most feared pirates in the world. She stood at the bow of her ship, her arms raised, her scar even more obvious in the sunlight. She breathed the salty sea air and sighed, her black hair blowing in the wind. This was the life. Even though it had taken her a hand and an eye, it still was worth it. She still remembered the days when she was a mischievous girl named … Madisyn.

Oh yeah, I forgot to add, Linn is the character with the requirements in this story.

Here’s my story, it’s formatted kind of strangely though. The journal entries were originally written in italics, but I made sure to mark them in this version.
I had some extra paragraphs written out about the scar over her eye, but it didn’t fit in the story. Sorry about that, :P

Story

(Journal entry)
The teacher drones on about the materials in the atmosphere, though not many are listening. They either whisper quietly among themselves, do homework, or sleep, with the occasional person eating.
There is one with her face buried in a book, one that I remember reading myself a couple years back. She leans over it, her shoulders hunched as if to protect the words. Based on her expression, she seems to be enjoying it. She’s even ignored the fact that her silky, pitch black hair is pouring over the pages along with her eyes. May she just wait. She’ll be surprised how quickly that book turns.
(Entry end)

Becket shuts the book in his hands, setting the pencil down beside it. He glances out the window, where the autumn breeze rocks the trees outside. The overcast sky with the rays of sun showering through catch his eyes and hold his gaze to the window, for who knows how long.
“Mr. Auscher! Pay attention!” His teacher shouts. His head snaps back in her direction with a huff, and he sighs.
“You choose to call me out, when there are sleeping students right over there?” He comments, gesturing to a fellow student with his head buried in his arms. “I was merely looking out the window.”
“Is looking out the window an example of active listening?”
“Is sleeping an example of active listening?”
A couple ‘oohs’ echoed quietly from the children listening in. The teacher huffs, glaring at Becket as he stares her in the eyes. She stalks towards him slowly, but to his surprise walks straight past him.
“Wake up!” She shouts, slamming her hand on the table in front of the sleeping kids. The two of them yelp in surprise, all but falling out of their chairs.
With the teacher’s attention driven away, Becket picks up the book once more, quietly hiding it under his desk as he scribbled in it.

(Journal entry)
The teacher was incredibly nonobservant towards the sleeping children in the class, instead choosing to call out the one who was quietly staring out of the window. Good teacher.
She was easily steered away from her main argument, directed to instead call out the sleeping children. Good teacher.
(Entry end)

“You’re off the hook for now, but that doesn’t mean you can do whatever. You’ll get this back at the end of class,” The teacher snatched the journal out of his hands, bringing it to her desk. “You two, office, now.” The now awake Kids groan, and leave the room silently. Becket sighed, leaning back in his seat as she started talking again.
It didn’t take long for his eyes to move back to the window, but this time he didn’t get caught.
The students shuffled out the door when the bell rang, as with the teacher. The only two in the room were Becket, and the girl with her head in the book. He looked at her, studying her expression as each page flipped through her fingers.
“What part are you at?” He asked, causing her to jump. “Oh, sorry. Didn’t mean to scare you.”
“No, no, it’s okay,” she smiled, shaking her head. “Chris just entered the city, in his pursuit of Julia.”
“Ah, alright.” Becket smirked, silently recalling the next events of her book.
“Don’t you dare spoil,” She commented with a giggle. “Why are you hanging back, anyway? The next bell rings in a couple minutes.”
“My next class is here, actually.” Becket stood, walking over to the desk to pick up his journal.
“Oh, me too. Though, I thought this level of biology was for sophomores and above, aren’t you a freshman?” She narrowed her eyes, staring him up and down.
“Yep, mom had me take the freshman course last summer.”
“Huh, impressive.” She said with a nod. “So you’re a total nerd?” That caused Becket to laugh. He sat down next to her, sliding his supplies into the desk.
“In my own eyes, no. I am merely a quick learner.”
“But to everyone else, yes, you are a huge nerd.”
“Thanks.”
The two of them laughed as an older student entered the room. He shot the two of them a weird look, but walked past and sat down.
“What’s your name?” The girl asked, after the two of them calmed down.
“Becket. Yours?” He smiled softly.
“Linn. Pleasure,” She answered, offering her hand. He gladly shook with her as the final bell rang and the students filed in.

“I like you, Becket Jen Auscher,” Linn said, near the end of the hour. He looked up from his journal, where he’d been re-reading previous pages.
“Hm? Why’s that?” He smirked.
“You’re different.” Upon hearing this, Becket gave her a confused look.
“In what way?”
“I don’t want to punch you,” She smirked. Becket laughed.
“You’ve known me for two hours, on the first day of school. You’re forming an opinion on that?” Becket narrowed his eyes. “I’m not that trustworthy.”
“It feels right.”
“You two!” The teacher called, glaring at them. They giggled, and fell silent.
“Want to meet me for lunch?” Linn whispered as the teacher looked away. “It’ll be an adventure.”
Becket nodded right away, setting his pencil down. She smiled.
“Edge of school grounds, near the parking lot, two hours,” She mumbled, just as the bell rang. She scooped up her supplies and left the room, leaving becket behind to watch her leave. After a moment, he gathered his own stuff and left to his next hour.

(Journal entry)
A conversation sparked with the girl reading, she said she liked me. She hides her full name, though she now knows mine. Linn. Linn who’s good at avoiding trouble, Linn who has a feeling.
We are meeting for lunch at the edge, I feel it’ll be an adventure.
(Entry end)

The next hour was slow for him, tapping his shoes and glancing between the clock and window. He sat with some friends, though they left him alone upon seeing him lost in thought.

The lesson in English is one of the easier ones I have encountered on my travels, though that is expected for the first day. Sadly, it gives time to stare at the clock as the hand slowly moves towards its goal, before it starts over. It’s goal is when the bell goes, but it seems to be taking longer than ever to reach. It’s ever so slow, but takes no time at all until the bell rings.

Becket got to the meeting area first, lunch box in hand. It was a couple minutes before he got bored, so he turned to climb the tree behind him. He skittered to the top swiftly, and settled down in a crowd of branches.
“Hey, Becket Jen!” Linn called, as she approached the tree. In no time, she was as high as he was. “I was going to suggest going into town to eat, but this seems like a great spot.” She balanced herself on a couple branches next to him, pulling out a sandwich from her own lunchbag. Becket took a bite of his own, and the two were silent for a while.
“So, Becket Jen-” Linn started, with her mouth full of food.
“Hold on. No more questions about me, you had time for that in History. I want to know about you, now.” Becket stated, staring her in the eyes. Linn appeared taken aback, drawing silent. Her gaze focused back onto her food. “I know nothing about you, Linn, yet you call me by my middle name.”
“You were willing to tell me your middle name,” she argued, not lifting her head.
“I thought it was respectful! You asked me a genuine question, and I answered it!”
To Linn’s surprise, Becket started laughing. He covered his mouth with his hand, trying to suppress it. She remained silent, letting him calm down.
“Alright, alright, you don’t have to talk. Only as long as you promise me something,” Becket offered.
“And what’s that?” Linn asked, after a moment of hesitation. Becket smiled.
“I don’t ask you any questions. Instead, I’ll discover you for myself. At the end of each day, I’ll tell you what I learned, or predict, and you have to tell me if I’m correct or not. It’ll be like a game!” Becket giggled. He waved his hands excitedly, smiling broadly. Linn laughed, relieved. “That is a very good offer, I’m impressed.”
“So you agree?” Becket asked, hopeful. Linn hesitated, looking away.
“You know what? Sure, why not.”